Process and apparatus for making closure sleeves for containers



S. N. DALTON Nov. 5, 1940.

2,220,221 PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR 'MAKING CLOSURE SLEEVES. FOR CONTAINERS Original Filed March 2 1937 INVENTOR Patented Nov. 5 1940 PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR MAKING CLOSURE SLEEVES FOR CONTAINERS Schuyler N. Dalton, Evanston, Ill., assignor to Sylvania Industrial Corporation, Fredericksburg, Va., a corporation of Virginia Original application March 2, 1937, Serial No.

128,615. Divided and this application Decem ber 11, 1937, Serial No. 179,314

6 Claims.

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for the manufacture of shrinkable closures for containers. More particularly, it relates to a method and apparatus for producing shrinkable caps and bands or sleeves for containers carrying an indicia-bearing label, such as a Government tax stamp, over the closure and to correlated improvements directed to enhancing the appearance of the caps and bands.

In the packaging of alcoholic liquors, such as wines, whiskeys, etc., in bottles, it is frequently the practice to affix identifying labels and sometimes necessary to apply a Government tax stamp over or adjacent the mouth of the bottle. Such stamps are usually in the form of a narrow strip which is adhesively attached to the closure and extends over the top of the closure cap and down the side of the bottle neck. The stamp must be affixed in such a manner that the whole of the stamp is visible and also that the bottle cannot be opened and the contents removed without mutilating the stamp.

It is frequently the practice to place over the bottle closure a shrinkable cap or band such, for example, as one of the so-called viscose caps. To enhance the appearance of the closure, the cap or band is made opaque or treated to render it opaque. When such an opaque closure is placed over the strip stamp to hold the same in place and to effectively seal the container, the closure will obscure a part of the stamp in violation of the Government regulations.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for producing an improved shrinkable container closure in the form of a cap or band, or sleeve, which is provided with a relatively transparent section, so that when the cap or band is properly applied over a container mouth having an indicia-bearing label adjacent thereto or thereon, the indicia will be legible in its entirety,

Another object of the invention is to provide a process for producing a shrinkable container closure having certain sections which are opaque and certain other sections which are relatively transparent.

A more specific object of the invention is to provide a method and apparatus for producing a shrinkable container closure in. which the wall thickness is varied to produce relatively transparent sections.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

According to the invention, the process comprises shaping a suitable film-forming solution I to form a shrinkable container closure having film-forming material containing an opaqueing substance, through an annular orifice constructed in such a manner as to form a seamless tubing having walls varying in thickness. In another embodiment of the process, a shrinkable closure is produced by dipping a mandrel into the film-forming material, the mandrel being shaped in such a manner as to produce a closure having walls varying in thickness. The invention also comprises the apparatus for carrying out the process of manufacturing the improved shrinkable container closures.

The present application forms a division of applicants co-pending application, Serial No. 128,615, filed March 2, 1937 for Container closure now Patent No. 2,161,561.

The closiire-forming solution employed in the process may comprise any suitable film-forming solution of a non-fibrous plastic material such as, viscose solutions or solutions of cellulose esters such, for example, as cellulose nitrate; cellulose ethers such, for example, as methyl cellulose; cellulose oXy-ethers such, for example, as ethoxy cellulose; or solutions of synthetic resins such, for example, as polymerized'vinyl resins or solutions of other suitable plastic materials that will shrink upon the loss of moisture and/or solvent such as gelatine, casein and the like.

It is to be understood that for the purpose of this invention, the expression transparent shall designate that optical condition of a dry closure wall which at least enables reading matter to be read therethrough when the Wall is in direct contact with the reading matter, and any other optical condition of the closure wall shall be designated as opaque; the expressions transparent and opaque as used in the specification and claims shall be interpreted in conformity with this definition. When the closure is formed in its entirety of a film-forming substance containing an opaqueing substance, the amount of opaqueing substance which may be incorporated in a particular film-forming material shall be not more than that which will leave the wall of minimum thickness transparent within the above definition.

Any of the aforementioned solutions may have a pigment, filler or any other opaqueing substance incorporated therein to give an opaque film upon deposition. For example, with a viscose solution, about 540% of barium sulphate may be used or 34% of titanium dioxide based upon the cellulose content.

The invention accordingly comprises the process having the several steps and the relation of one or more of such steps with respect to each of the others, the apparatus embodying features of construction, combinations of elements and arrangement of parts adapted to efiect such steps, all as exemplified in the detailed disclosure 2 W V I hereinafter set forth and the scope of the invention will be indicated in the claims,

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention, reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawingjin which:

Fig. l is a diagrammatical representation of apparatus for forming a shrinkable closurein accordance with the invention;

Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive illustrate in cross-section and in as many embodiments, the extruding die of the invention;

Fig. 6 shows a seamless tubing before being severed to form shrinkable closures in accordance with the invention.

Fig. '7 shows in perspective a shrinkable band or sleeve made in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 8 illustrates a mandrel of the invention after the first dip in the formation of a cap in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 9 shows the mandrel of Fig. 8 after an additional coat of a film-forming solution has been applied thereto;

Fig. 10 illustrates cross-section of mandrel shown in Fig. 8;

Fig. 11 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of the cap shown inFig. 9, after it has been removed from the mandrel.

Fig. 12 shows a shrinkable band made in accordance with the invention and applied to a container; and

Fig. 13 illustrates a shrinkable cap made in accordance with the invention applied to a container.

One embodiment of the tube-forming apparatus of the invention is shown diagrammatically in Fig. 1 in which there is provided an extrusion nozzle I having a conduit 2 through which the tube-forming solution is introduced and an annular orifice 3 through which the solution is extruded in the form of a seamless, flexible tubing 4, a conduit 5 for supplying a coagulating fluid to the interior of the tubing and a centrally disposed conduit 6 through which air may be supplied into the interior tubing and/or through which spent coagulating fluid may be withdrawn. The conduit 6 may extend any desired distance within the interior of the freshly extruded tubing 4. The orifice 3 of the extrusion head I is disposed beneath the surface of the coagulating bath 1 contained in a suitable vessel 8.

The tubing 4 which is preferably maintained ina distended condition during coagulation is passed through the bath 1 and around a rotatable roller 9 which may be driven at any suitable rate with respect to the rate of extrusion. After coagulation, the tubing is subjected to the conventional purifying, washing and conditioning treatments in baths H), H and I2 and finally the tubing passes through a drying chamber 13 and is thereafter severed transversely by a cutting device [4, the bands thus formed being collected in a suitable receptacle I5.

The extruding nozzle l is composed essentially of two cooperating elements which are concentrically disposed with respect to each other, the inner element being connoted herein as the core member and the outer element as the die member. As shown in Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive, the core and die members are so designed as to form an annular orifice 3 which varies in width. In the embodiment shown in Fig. 2, the interior of the die member I6 is elliptical in cross-section Whereas the exterior of the core member I! is circular in cross-section, but concentrically disposed within the member l6 and forming a generally circular or annular orifice 3 through which the filmforming solution is adapted to pass during the extrusion process.

The nozzle shown in Fig. 3 is composed of a die member l8 having a circular inner surface and a core member l9 having an elliptical outer configuration, thus forming an orifice 3 similar in shape to that shown in Fig. 2. The extruding nozzle shown in Fig. 5 comprises a die member 20 having a circular inner surface and a core member 2| having a generally elliptical exterior, thereby forming an orifice 3 in which the narrow portions 22 are uniform in width in lieu of tapering in width as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

In Fig. 4 there is shown a nozzle composed of a circular die member 23 and a circular core member 24 forming an extrusion opening 3' having a uniform width throughout its length. The core member is provided with slots 25 through which a solution may be passed and which may be the same as or a different solution from that fed through the opening 3. The opening 3' and the slots 25 together form the extrusion orifice of the nozzle. The tubing formed by the use of this nozzle will also have thick and thin wall portions inasmuch as the solution that issues from the slots 25 Will adhere to the inner surfaces of the solution issuing from the opening 3, thus forming a unitary structure.

A section of the tubing 4, made in accordance with the invention, is illustrated in Fig. 6 which is preferably composed of pigmented cellulosic material which is relatively opaque at the thickened sections A and is relatively transparent at the thinner sections B. When the tubing 4 is severed transversely at spaced intervals along the lines C, there are formed a plurality of shrinkable bands 26 of the type shown in Fig. '7. Each band 26 comprises two opaque sections separated by transparent sections B, the latter of which form the window portion through which an indicia bearing band or the like may be read.

During its manufacture, the tubing is preferably conveyed through the various treatment baths in a flattened condition, the fold lines 21 being naturally or otherwise formed at the thinnest portions of the tubing which are located at the center of the Window section. Inasmuch as shrinkable container closures are shipped to the user in a flattened condition, the fold line 21 has proven to be a very valuable asset to the closure, as it permits the operator to easily apply the closure to a container and properly align the same, by means of touch alone, with respect to a label, tax stamp or the like which may be disposed over the mouth of the container. When the fold lines or creases are formed in the thin wall sections, they are completely removed when the tubing shrinks during application to a receptacle or other object and the tubing is thereby enabled to tightly contact the receptacle or other object over the entire area covered by the tubing.

In the production of the cap-type of closure, the mandrel 28 as shown in Figs. 8 to 10 inclusive may effectively be employed. The mandrel 28 is generally cylindrical in shape with a rounded bottom portion and is provided with a projecting band portion 29 which extends from a point near the top of the mandrel down one lateral side, around the bottom and up on the opposite side, as shown in the drawing. The band portion 29 may be formed integrally with the mandrel 28 or it may be separably mounted thereon.

In the process of forming a cap, the mandrel 28 is dipped into a suitable opaque or translucent film-forming solution and withdrawn therefrom while removing the solution from the band portion 29. Figs. 8 and 10 show the mandrel 28 having one or more coats 30 of a solution containing an opaqueing substance applied thereto, the band portion 29 being free of the solution. The mandrel 28 is again dipped in the same or in a transparent film-forming solution to form a continuous film over the entire mandrel 28, as shown in Fig. 9. The solution or solutions applied to the mandrel 28 may now be subjected to coagulating, purifying and conditioning treatments in the usual manner. The mandrel 28 may be dipped into a coagulating bath after each dipping or after the final dip as desired. The cap 3|, a cross-section of which is shown in Fig. 11, is then stripped from the mandrel 28, and subjected to the usual trimming operations and the like. The mandrel 28, may be formed of any suitable material such as metal, glass, etc., and may be provided with heating or cooling means. The process may also be carried out by employing a plain mandrel without a projecting band portion 29 in such a case a strip of the coating of the first dip is removed by means of a suitable scraper or the like. A masking tape may also be applied before the first dip and removed thereafter leaving an uncoated strip on the mandrel.

Fig. 12 shows a novel shrinkable closure 26 of the band-type as applied to a container 32 having a label, tax stamp or the like disposed over the mouth thereof. The transparent window sections B of the band 26 are disposed over the indicia bearing band 33 so that the latter is clearly visible while the opaque portions A cover the unattractive portions of the container top. While the band may be composed throughout of the same pigmentized composition, the thinness of the window section renders it suificiently transparent to enable reading matter to be read therethrough when the wall of the closure is in contact with such matter.

Fig. 13 illustrates a shrinkable cap- 31 applied to a container 3 3 having an indicia-bearing band 35 disposed over the mouth thereof, the window section B overlying the indicia-bearing band 35. It will be observed that by the Present invention there is provided a novel shrinkable closure for containers having a Government tax stamp or other indicia-bearing label over the mouth portion thereof, the closure having transparent window sections through which the stamp or label is legible in its entirety and opaque sections which serve to enhance the appearance of the container. The shrinkable closure may be further enhanced in appearance by applying indicia or other suitable decorative matter to the opaque portions thereof.

Since certain changes in carrying out the above process, and certain modifications in the article which embody the invention may be made without departing from its scope, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described, and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An extrusion nozzle for forming a shrinkable closure band or sleeve having longitudinal, integral, relatively transparent and opaque sections, comprising a die member having a continucus interior surface and a core member having a contiguous, continuous exterior surface, one of said surfaces being substantially circular and the other being substantially elliptical, so that a band extruded between the same will have alternate thick and thin portions.

2. The method of producing a shrinkable container closure comprising flowing a suitable filmforming solution in an annular stream, flowing arcuate streams of a suitablefilm-forming solution into contact with opposite sides of the interior of said annular stream to increase the thickness of said annular stream on opposite sides thereof, and hardening the solutions to form a tubular body having oppositely positioned and longitudinally extending wall sections varying in thickness from other wall sections.

3. The process of producing a shrinkable container closure comprising flowing a suitable filmforming solution in an annular stream, flowing arcuate streams of a suitable film-forming solution containing an opaqueing substance into contact with opposite sides of the interior of said annular stream, and hardening the solution to form a tubular body having oppositely positioned and longitudinally extending wall sections varying in thickness and transparency from other sections of the wall.

4. An extrusion nozzle for forming a shrinkable closure band or sleeve comprisilng a die member having a continuous interior surface and a core member disposed within the die member and having a continuous exterior surface adjacent to the continuous interior surface of the die member to form an extrusion orifice, the configurations of said adjacent surfaces being similar and the core member having arcuate slots extending therethrough concentric with the said surfaces.

5. The process of producing a shrinkable container closure comprising flowing a suitable filmforming solution containing an opaqueing substance in a substantially annular stream which is thinner at two opposite sections than at intervening portions of the stream, hardening the solution to form a tubular body having oppositely positioned and longitudinally-extending wall sections varying in thiclmess from other sections of the wall, and folding the wall of the tubular body to form a crease in each of the thinner of the sections to flatten the tubing.

6. The process of producing a shrinkable container closure comprising flowing a hardenable cellulosic solution in a tubular stream having two opposite wall sections which are thinner than the intervening wall sections, hardening the solution to form a tubular body having oppositely positioned and longitudinally-extending wall sections varying in thickness from other sections of the wall, and folding the tubular body toform a crease in each of the thinner of the sections to flatten the tubing.

SCHUYLER N. DALTON. 

